Buttfreckle...

Day 1250:

Sawagami (澤神) has got to be one of my favorite tsukemen shops in Japan.

Top 5 for sure!

It's legit.

I guarantee it.

What the...

A ramen Buttfreckle!!

Thanks Bridgette!!

ugh...my third new iphone this year. lol.

You know what that means?

Yup, it's time to sing!

haha what a night.

KrisB surprise...

Day 1170:

While wandering around Nakano-Fujimicho I found a tsukemen shop that seemed interesting enough. Tsukesoba Taishoken Nabeya-yokocho (つけそば大勝軒 鍋屋横丁) definitely has some HIT roots, but there's just one thing missing. Perhaps it's the fame...

Surprisingly, the bowl of soup was bigger than the bowl of noodles.

I may never find my way back here, but perhaps this is how tsukemen should be.

Kris B in da house!!!

Let's just say this. Kris is the reason that Ramen Dreams became what it is in the first place. Speaking of Ramen Dreams, are you ready for the world premiere?

Saikoro Boom...

Day 1162:

I'm not gonna lie, but change is just a matter of time and time is all it takes to change. Let's just hope it all works out in the end. Or for that matter, let's just hope it never ends.

Boom may have left basa, but sooner or later everyone has to leave, right? Btw, Boom looks good in red.

If not Bassanova, then Saikoro may be the next best place to work.

Boom 頑張って！Make some good men dammit!

I still had some days left on my juhachi kippu so I decided to take a ride to Mt. Takao.

Unfortunately, the sun was beginning to set and the last tram down was 30 minutes after we took our tram up.

But I got some good shots. Peaceful shots.

On the way back I made a stop in Hachioji for some curry.

Just kidding. haha.

Hachioji is known for Shoyu Ramen with diced onions. And Hirotomi (弘富) represents!

I needed that.

Afterwards it was time to meet up in Nakameguro with an old friend. No not this guy. (Hiroshi...lol!)

Chicken balls!!

Good to see you Reina!! We need to get DNo back in Japan!!!

And one last beer for the road.

Thanks So!

29の日...

Day 1122:

On the 29th of every month Niku Niboshi Saikoro in Nakano hosts "Niku no Hi (Meat Day)!"

Where every bowl of Niku Niboshi Chuukasoba is only 500 yen. Yup, one coin!!

Yusuke-san was hard at work dishin' out six bowls at a time.

Sometimes it pays to know the chef. Free gyoza!!

Now isn't she a beauty...

Homemade noodles...

And a voluptuous egg.

A beautiful bowl calls for a blissful break in a beautiful park.

By the way, this is what I love about Japan...

Hiya nibo...

Day 989:

It was hot and I needed something to cool me down.

Hiya Nibo aka Cold Niboshi Ramen.

Gotta love it!

Classic Saikoro aka Jiraigen.

Koitani-san is a true ramen G!

Eiraku...

Day 977:

If there is one bowl of tsukemen that you need to eat in your lifetime, it is here. No, not Higashi-Ikebukuro Taishoken or Rokurinsha or Tomita (although all highly respected), but here...at Eiraku (和風つけめん栄楽) in Nakano.

And you'll need to do it soon because it's what they call shinise-kei a.k.a. been-around-fo-evah.

Now this...

THIS!

Is tsukemen!

O.G. tsukemen.

A good day...

Day 932:

Koujitsu (好日) is a small shop in Higashi-Nakano that is run by an all-women staff and claims to be ”mukacho” (無化調), in other words "no msg." Although I enjoy my daily doses of the controversial chemical, I guess sometimes I can do without it.

The Tsukemen seems to be the most popular.

IMHO, Marucho-kei is better than Rokurinsha-kei.

The Ramen here is also very good. In fact, I think I prefer the ramen over the tsukemen.

The soup is light with just enough shoyu flavor and the noodles are overly chewy almost like udon. They kind of reminded me of Suzuran.

Anyway, I've decided to give up on the miso ramen for now.

Actually I'm not giving up. I'm gonna start working on something else first.